Charles Colbert, marquis de Croissy

Charles Colbert, marquis de Croissy, (born 1625, Paris, Fr.—died July 28, 1696, Versailles), secretary of state for foreign affairs from 1679 to 1696 who helped King Louis XIV develop the annexationist policy that involved France in the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) against the other major European powers.

Colbert de Croissy was the younger brother of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Louis XIV’s great financial minister (1665–83). Appointed intendant (royal agent) of Alsace in 1656, he was made president of the sovereign council of Alsace in 1657, and in 1662–63 he served as president of the Parlement (high court of justice) of Metz. From 1668 to 1674 he was ambassador to London. He helped negotiate the Treaty of Nijmegen, ending Louis XIV’s war (1672–78) against the Dutch, and in 1679 his brother obtained for him the office of secretary of state for foreign affairs. Thus he was admitted to Louis XIV’s inner council.

Colbert de Croissy’s experience in Metz and Alsace had convinced him that France must stabilize its poorly defined eastern frontier by absorbing certain strategically located neighbouring towns and territories. To this end he devised the policy of réunion, by which Louis XIV claimed sovereignty over all the feudal dependencies of the territories that he already possessed in Alsace, Franche-Comté, Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Chambres de réunion set up by Colbert de Croissy at Metz, Besançon, and Breisach designated the regions to be annexed, and French troops then occupied these areas. Because many of the annexations were of dubious legality, Colbert de Croissy advised Louis to exercise caution, but the king went so far as to seize the Alsatian city of Strassburg (Strasbourg) illegally in September 1681. Such acts aroused the hostility of the major European powers. Eager for conciliation, Colbert de Croissy concluded alliances with several of the smaller German states, but his diplomacy failed to prevent the formation of the coalition of great powers that engaged France in the War of the Grand Alliance.